As Vice President for IDC Retail Insights, Leslie Hand is responsible for the research direction for IDC Retail Insights, an IDC industry business unit that provides global, fact-based research and analysis on best practices and the use of information technology that assists clients in improving their capabilities in key process areas.

BACKGROUND

Before joining IDC, Ms. Hand spent 28 years in the retail industry, with 5 years in operations and 23 in retail information technology and technology strategy. While in retail operations she managed stores and was instrumental in defining new customer centric and yet more efficient operational processes. While in retail technology she has guided strategy, technology selections, development, implementation and support efforts for almost all retail functional technologies in a variety of retail segments that include grocery, drug store, and specialty. She leverages this experience to provide relevant advice to retailers and technologists on technology, technology strategy, and business processes.

Ms. Hand has a wealth of experience in small and large retailers, ranging from managing store systems and IT operations in the mid-1980's for a drugstore and specialty retailer, to heading IT for a new division of a tier 2 retailer in the 1990's, leading in the selection, implementation and support of the full range of store and central technologies, and culminating in a Global IT strategy role for a top global grocer.

Immediately prior to joining IDC Retail Insights, Ms. Hand was the Director of the Solutions Center / Global RFID Strategy for Ahold. Over the course of her career with Ahold, she was responsible for identifying and developing best practices and systems for data integration, data standards, RFID / EPC, and business processes that spanned all functional business areas across more than a half dozen operating companies. Her deep subject matter expertise and intuitive ability to drive retail technology strategy and make technology selections that enable performance improvements have always been her passion and hallmark.

Leslie likes to say that she will always be a retailer through and through, but in her current role she now has the opportunity to work for many top retailers and the technology providers that serve them.

EDUCATION/INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Leslie won many quarterly research awards and IDC's most prestigious and highest honor for research excellence, The James Peacock Award, in January 2013.

Ms. Hand regularly contributes to the Retail PLM and Sourcing blog in the IDC Retail Insights Community (http://idc-insights-community.com/retail). Her Twitter handle is lesliehand.

Ms. Hand is a frequent speaker at industry and technology vendor events and is regularly quoted in the business, technology, and trade press. She holds a bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

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